Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-07-06
The Murkpille Guqnirer.
s. G. :
WEDNESDAY, JULY 6, 1887.
THE PROPOSED COUNTY BONDS.

GDINICDI11 JULIA w Aoo''
THE PROPOSED COUNTY BONDS. :
The following is the copy of a petition
now being circulated in this county, and
which was first publicly presented in
Yorkville for signatures last Friday:
STATE OF SOUTH CARoL1NA.-YoRK COUNTY
To the Honorable, the County Commissioners OF
York County: The undersigned, qualified voters
Of the county of York and freeholders resident
therein, respectfully represent: That pursuant
to an Act of the General Assembly OF SAID
Georgetown and North Carolina Narrow Gauge
Railroad Company ratified on the 18th day,of
December, 1883, and pursuant also to sundry
other Acts and amepdatory Acts passed In re-
lation thereto, more especially an amendatory
name Of said Railroad Company, to the
"Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad
Company" it is made lawful for counties ana
townships in said State, interested in the con-
struction of said railroad, to subscribe to the
capital stock thereof such sums as a majority
of, the voters, voting at an election held for
that purpose, may authorize the county. COM
missioners to subscribe-said subscription to
be made in seven per cent. coupon oonos, pay.
able twenty-five years after the date Thereon,
the funds realized from such bonds to be ex-
pended exclusively in the construction of said
road within the counties or townships so sub
scribing.
A d Whereas, the county of York is interest
ed liz the construction of said railroad:
We therefore petition your honorable body
that at your next regular meeting after the pre-
sentation of this petition, with a majority OF the
freehold voters subscribed thereon, you order
an election to be held at such place or places IN
said county as you may designate. at ~nlch
election you will submit to the quallhed voters
of said county the question Of subscribing
to the capital stock of the said Charleston, Gin
cinnati and Chicago Railroad Company, the
sum of three hundred thousand dollars, paya-
BILE in bonds as aforesaid, the interest thereon
to be made payable semi-annually.
Provided, that Of the bonds so subscribed, two
hundred and seventeen thousand dollars, at
par value, shall be delivered upon the same
trust conditions to the present trustee OF the
township bonds subscribed and issued by the
townships of Cherokee, Broad River, York,
Ebenezer and Catawba, to aid in the construc-
ton of the main line of said road via BLACKS
Yorkville and Rock Hill said county 6onds
to be delivered in substitution for the ABOVE
mentioned township bonds, and SAID township
bonds to be withdrawn and Cancelled, and sub
scriptions released when the bonds under this
petition are signed, executed and delivered TO
said trustee in exchange for the Cancelled town,
ship bonds, and the remainder OF the SAID
three hundred thousand dollars OF SAID county
bonds to be used in place of the proposed sub
scriptions of Bullock's Creek, Bethel or other
townships which may desire to aid in the con-
struction Of a branch of the said Charleston,
Cincinnati and Chicago Railroad, from such
point on its line as said railroad company may
determine, to connect with the Augusta divis-
ion of said road and to constitute a part OF said
division-said county bonds to be delivered
upon the same trust conditions to the trustee
Of the present township bonds, conditioned
whereby said remainder of bonds shall become
null and void and released to the county OF
York, provided said branch of said railroad,
in aid of which they may be subscribed, IS not
constructed on or before January lst, 1880;
said branch to run as follows:
lst. From a point where the Augusta dlvls-
ion shall cross Broad River from Union into
York county, through Bullock's Creek town
ship, thence by the most practicable line
through Broad ltiyer or York townships 10
Bethel township, thence through Bethel town
ship, north of Nanny's Mountain, in the dlrec-
ton of Charlotte; or,
End. From the same point upon Broad RIVER
to q point on the main line of said railroad north
or west of Yorkville; or,
3rd. From the same point upon Broad River
to a point on the line of said railroad at or near
Yorkyille, to the North Carolina line, via Ebe-
nezer, in the direction Of Charlotte; or
4th. From the same point upon Broad River
by or near McConnellsville via Rock Hill to
the North Carolina line in the direction OF
Charlotte.
Provided further, that the Charleston, Cincin-
natl and Chicago Railroad Company may adopt
any such parts or portions, or continuation OF
any portions of two or more of said lines as
they may deem most practicable.
AS may be seen, the object of the petit
ton is to secure the conversion of the bonds
of the respective townships in aid of the
Charleston, Cincinnati and Chicago Rail.
road into a county debt, with the objec-
tionable feature of making the interest
payable semi-annually, instead of annual
ly as provided in the township bonds al
ready issued.
The aggregate amount of the township
subscriptions is S2l7 900, but it is proposed
to make a county subscription of $500, 900,
the sun of 1913, 900 to be applied to the con-
struction of a railroad from a point on
Broad River, by any route or in any direc-
ton that may suit the purposes of the
Massachusetts and Southern Construction
Company, or which to that corporation
may ''be deemed the most practicable"
should it even happen to suit the purposes
of the company to build a road at all.
There is another objection to the petition,
and that is, the sinister manner in which
it is conceived. Adopting the verbiage
of our legal friends, it could have been most
appropriately headed: "Er pate The Mas
sachusetts and Southern Construction Com
pany VS.. the People of York" 1t makes
no specific or positive promise to- the tax
ayers as a consideration for giving them
county bonds, with interest payable semi
annually, in exchange for township bonds
with interest payable annually and while
it is claimed, and is probably true, that
county bonds constitute more desirable Sc
curity and haye a higher market value, no
deduction is proposed in consideration OF
this view, but to the contrary, including
the amount asked for constructing the Au-
gusta and Charlotte division, about $40, 900
more is asked than could be expected from
Bullock's Creek and Bethel, the only
townships through which, in all the vague
ness and inexplicability of the petition, it
is reasonable to suppose the proposed road
would run.
degrading the feature of semi-annual in
terest, it is only necessary to explain to
the taxpayers that, as a rule, the interest
on township, county or State bonds is
only, in very exceptional cases, made pay
able semi-annually. Bonds of this class
command a premium over those on which
the interest is payable annually, as the
holder IAN realize on one half of the annu-
al interest six months in advance. But
aside from this, to the taxpayers the pro-
posed change would work a great inconve-
nience. Under our present system the
taxes are collected but once a year. With
bonds bearing interest payable semi-an-
nually, it would be necessary to collect
a portion of this tax six months in adj
vance, or collect the taxes twice a year.